Manhattan clinic offers holistic medicine to the poor and uninsured

For the first time, yoga, meditation, acupuncture and other holistic approaches to medicine are being offered to the poor and uninsured through a federally funded clinic on the Lower East Side.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Catherine M. Abate Health Center, part of the Community Healthcare Network, was held Thursday.

"We invented this program. We want to spread it out to our other centers across the city," said Elizabeth Kellner, chairwoman of the network that serves 75,000 patients at 12 clinics.

The Manhattan facility -- formerly the Downtown Health Center -- was renamed in honor of Abate, a former state senator and network president and CEO whose own battle with cancer inspired her to start the wellness program.

Abate, who died at 66 in May, was a medical health care crusader for the poor, her son said Thursday.

"Holistic health and wellness gave my mom a lot of strength and courage to keep fighting," Kyle Kliegerman said. "Instead of hiding in a corner, she channeled her life to bring Eastern medicine to the poor."

Kliegerman addressed more than 100 elected officials, health care providers and clinic workers, who spilled out onto Essex Street to pay homage to Abate. As former CEO, she was credited with expanding the health network, which today boasts a $55 million operating budget and a staff of 500.

SEE PHOTOSHow did these 150 LIers drop up to 320 lbs. each?

The wellness program's offerings include health coaching, Qigong (Chinese meditation in motion) and Reiki (Japanese stress-reducing massage). The program has enrolled 175 clients since August and has hired four instructors for day and evening classes.

Amparo Recio, 70, said her weekly yoga sessions have reduced her back pain. She has suffered from slipped discs and shingles.

"I couldn't lay on my back; I couldn't move my legs and arms. They felt too heavy. Now I am more flexible, and I don't have to take as many painkillers," said Recio, a retired office worker.

Program manager Casey Cooper said the holistic approaches will benefit patients who battle diabetes, obesity, heart disease, depression and cancer. "We are paving a new future," Cooper said.

The program was started with donations totaling about $200,000, an official said.

"This an expensive proposition, but hospitals are already providing wellness programs," Kellner said. "Now we just have to get insurance companies to pay for them because in the long run it keeps people healthy."

Clinic social worker Diana Franklin said her clients understand that holistic medicine also helps them cope with their anxiety and stress. "It's encouraging to see them walk through the door and understand that this is good for them," she said.